More than 1.1 million Michiganders have submitted an absentee ballot, SOS says

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LANSING, Mich. (WXYZ) — With two weeks until Election Day, the Michigan Secretary of State's Office said that more than 1.1 million absentee ballots have been submitted.

In an update posted Tuesday by the SOS, 1.14 million Michigan voters have submitted an absentee ballot to be tabulated.

Also, 5,100 Michiganders have voted at an in-person early voting site, including 2,504 in the City of Detroit.

Early voting began in Detroit on Saturday, Oct. 19 and in Canton Township and East Lansing on Oct. 21. It will begin for the rest of the state on Saturday, Oct. 26.

Those numbers total about 16% of the state's active registered voters, according to the SOS.

As of Tuesday, Oct. 22, the state said a total of 2,268,186 people have requested an absentee ballot or received one after joining the permanent absentee ballot list. Of those, 1,147,041 voters have turned it in – equaling 51%.

In 2020, there were more absentee ballots requested and received as of Oct. 20, 2020, but that was during the COVID-19 pandemic.

People can still register to vote and can also request a mail-in ballot. Registration must be done in-person, and they can also request, complete and submit an absentee ballot in the same visit.

Voters are encouraged to hand-deliver their ballot at their local clerk's office or drop it in a secure ballot drop box.

People can also bring their absentee ballot to an early voting site.

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